Mobile Phone News

New smartphones may include tougher anti-theft measures

Major mobile manufacturers, including Samsung and Apple, have committed to a new initiative, which will result in new handsets being endowed with a feature that makes them much less valuable as targets for theft.

While it is currently possible to track the location of a stolen handset as long as it is turned on, or even remotely delete all of your personal data from it so that third parties do not have access, the device itself it still valuable to thieves.

However, the idea is to implant a kill switch within smartphones that, once triggered, will render the whole thing completely useless.

If a thief knows that a stolen phone will be turned into something that is only useful as a paperweight, it is likely that they will not be as keen to target mobile users for their gizmos.

Other companies which have decided to adopt this approach include Nokia, HTC and Huawei, although for the time being, it will only be enacted on US soil.

Ideally, the process of adding a kill switch to dissuade thieves from nabbing phones will soon become an international feature, perhaps leading to a lessening in this type of crime.